The National Weather Service proudly presented John Plock with a 15 year Length of Service Award. Since 1994 John has reported the rain and snow for the Shickley area. In that time he has recorded over 400 inches of precipitation. The wettest year was 2001 with 35.52 inches. May of that year also happened to be the wettest month with 11.54 inches of rain. The very next year just happened to be the driest year with only 20.67 inches. At the end of September this year, the Shickley area had received just over 13 inches of precipitation. The 14 year average for precipitation for Shickley is right around 28.03 inches. While October has added a couple inches of additional rainfall, this year still has a ways to go to reach the average.

However it shakes out, John can be counted on to record the precipitation every morning, as he has done for the past 15 years. That amounts to nearly 6000 observations. His dedication in creating a climate database for the Shickley area is greatly appreciated. At the end of each month, his weather form is electronically downloaded by the National Weather Service in Hastings where it is quality controlled. After that it is electronically downloaded and archived by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina. A copy is also sent to the Nebraska State Climatologist for publication. John is among an elite group of over ten thousand volunteers across the nation who record temperatures and/or precipitation every day. Climate data are used in every aspect of our national economy. Just a few of the many users are transportation companies, the insurance industry, agriculture, water resource and manufacturing.

Mike Reed, hydrometeorological technician for the National Weather Service Office in Hastings presented the award.